If it does either of those things, the effect is essentially useless. It is important that you spend some time adjusting this control because you do not want the compressor to kick in too fast or wait too long to kick in. The control know tells it how fast and how slow to start. The Attack control is used to tell the compressor when to start engaging in milliseconds (MS). Likewise when set at 4:1 (or 4 to one) the compressor will only allow a 1 dB increase for every four decibels that exceed the threshold. If you select 2:1, every time your input signal exceeds the threshold by two decibels, the compressor will only allow a one-decibel (1 dB) increase. The Ratio typically has numbers on it that look like this 2:1 or 4:1 etc. The Ratio knob is what happens once the Threshold decibel is engaged. When you set this knob to a specific decibel you are essentially saying “start compressing here.” The dial usually ranges from at least -20 to positive 10. So we will look at what the compressor does and then some techniques and ways to learn how to set compression.Ī Threshhold controls where the compressor starts to work. However, to experiment you must understand all of the parts. One doesn't learn how to use compression simply by understanding what all the knobs do. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Since most church vocalists are not trained professionals, we can improve the sound of the vocals in our audio mix by adding compression to each vocal channel.Ĭompression is one of those things that takes time and energy to learn. Through experience, they also learn how to listen and blend when singing together. Professional vocalists are trained to sing at a consistent level.

How to compress vocals